Good Music Transcends Everything

Esnavi

“What music are you listening to today“? This is a question we all hear possibly several times a week. With all of the mobile devices, music services, and the ability to download just about any song or album digitally, everyone potentially has a full library of music at their fingertips. As a music blogger, I listen to music of various genres just about every day. Sometimes people send me music, and there are times I receive tips about music from music industry insiders. However, every once in a while I stumble upon music while not looking for it. This is exactly what took place a couple of months ago as I heard a song by sensational singer/songwriter Esnavi. It was while watching an episode of the program Hello Cupid on the Black&Sexy.TV network online. I heard a couple of songs that were quite good and of course wondered who was singing such original and fresh music. When the credits rolled at the end of the episode all music in the episode was performed by Esnavi. I just had to find out more about the person responsible for producing such wonderful music. Well, I learned and it resulted in the post you’re reading right now.

First, let’s start with the singer’s unusual name. Eclectic, Soulful, Natural, Authentic, Vivacious, and Intriguing – E S N A V I, As I researched about this young, talented artist, I found the descriptive name to be true to Esnavi‘s personality. She was as impressive in the interview setting as on stage performing. A great person to interview indeed, Esnavi is very intelligent and knowledgeable about music as well as the music industry. As her bio states, “Esnavi is a singer/songwriter hailing from Milwaukee, is a multifaceted artist with a voice of undeniable soul, lyrics of thought provoking truth, and music that harmoniously blends everything in between“.

Esnavi now resides in New York City where she has taken full advantage of opportunities to expand musically. One of the things I noticed about larger metropolitan areas like New York and Chicago is that there are so many venues that offer live music; an artist will have many opportunities to perform. Sometimes I find it hard to explain this to persons who are from other places, and are not familiar with this fact about the New York area. I’m sure this factor is one that fueled Esnavi’s decision to leave Milwaukee and head east.

My further researches of Esnavi led me to her debut and only album Exit E. I must say that Exit E is a wonderful album. I sat down and listened to one-half of the songs, and then finished the other half later in the same day. It has since found a permanent place within my personal library of music. When I use the word “personal” in regard to my music library, you must understand that I listen to a lot of music, but only a select number of albums will find a place in my “personal” music library. Therefore Exit E is now an album that I will readily share with others if asked about my favorite music.

It turns out that this young entertainer was not so new to the music industry. Her bio stated that she had already burst upon the scene securing music licensing deals, television appearances, and beauty campaigns after breaking out with her first single, Unexpected Love, which reached the Top 40 on the Urban Adult Contemporary Charts and became part of the worldwide karaoke music catalog. The video for the single has remained in rotation on VH1 Soul since its release and was one of Centric Hot 10 Countdown picks. Her most recent single, What U Need, which was featured on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: New York Season 4 Premiere is in rotation on radio stations across the country, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and Music Choice-R&B Soul channel on cable television.

Esnavi has been very busy, as any new artist should.  Licensing deals have been a major part of promoting the album and also branding Esnavi as an artist. Deals with H&M, Old Navy, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nine West, Ann Taylor and Arden B stores worldwide have given Exit E legs. The licensing deals have opened more avenues of promotion and even though this is Esnavi’s debut album, it is getting major attention.

I thought about the lessons other new artists could learn from Esnavi’s experience. Yes there are more than a few lessons here about independent artists marketing of their music. The best lesson can be learned by a statement Esnavi made about her musical goals along with her producer Michael Kunz, “We wanted to create good music that transcends everything, music that anyone in the world could listen to and love.” Before thinking about how to market your music, young artists should create the best music you possibly can. Work hard at it. After all, that is the real difference maker for Esnavi. She has an album filled with great, original music. Good music transcends everything.